The Future
by Lindir
Summary: In the future, it is no longer Recca and the Hokage who are called to the madougu, but a new set of warriors, every bit as different and every bit as capable. But this time, the stakes and the teams-- and even the sides-- are more than a little different
1. The Awakening

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Disclaimer: Recca no Honou belongs to its respective owner(s). 

The Future  
Chapter One: The Awakening   
by katanashi 

Note: This isn't really an alternate universe fanfiction; it involves the madougu and their new masters after the Hokage masters.   
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* * * * *

It all started with a scream, a shout, and an explosion. An explosion of pure flame, a strange mixture of blue and red fire, terrifying in its intensity, stormed throughout the forest. To the frightened observers, many who were turning alarming shades of white, it seemed to morph into different shapes, at first a sort of multi-headed Hydra-like creature. As the flame turned towards them, they saw two glowing white embers acting as eyes, and the flame began to shift shape until it took the shape of a ghostly bird, tinges of blue at its tips, beating its wings with a thin, triumphant cry. 

"Kami-sama protect us all," a man whispered under his breath, his eyes wide as he took in the sight.

Just at that moment, the flaming bird gave one last cry before it collapsed into a mass of churning fire. Over and over again, the tongues of flame seemed to run over each other, like a pack of wild dogs fighting each other. Flames flared out here and there, singing the trees, the houses, and even the people. 

Suddenly, it stopped. 

And with a mighty blast, the flame exploded into nine different streaks. Each line rapidly coalesced around a set of glowing, green emerald eyes-- eyes of green flame.

"Dragons," the same man whispered. He was young, bordering on early manhood-- perhaps eighteen, twenty years of age. "Flame dragons. Karyu."

"The legendary flame of Eimin finally awakens," an ancient man said next to him, his deep voice grave.

"The flame of Eimin?" the young man, Hiroshi, turned back, startled.

The man nodded. "The flame of the eternal has come out at last." He closed is eyes and reached his hand out, as if to feel the aura that the flames put forth. "The flame's sole power is to protect the world when the evil arises. Whenever the flame comes out, it is because the evil has reawakened as well." 

"The evil…" Hiroshi whispered. "What kind of evil could be so great as to challenge the incarnate of flame?"

The old man smiled slightly. "It is the age-old battle again, between good and evil, a constant balance between the two. One may win the battle, but neither will win the war because it is a war with no end. And those that enter the battle will never come out with their identities the same."

"What do you mean?" Hiroshi demanded, turning back to him.

"You will see," the old man murmered. "You will see soon enough…" 

Hiroshi waited impatiently for a moment, but his inability to stand still in the face of trouble took over, and he ran off, shouting for people to bring water so they could douse the flames and prevent a village burnout.

The man opened his eyes, and if anyone had seen him, they would have seen his old withered form waver, then disappear, replaced with the ghostly image of a toned, bronzed young man in his twenties with four tattoos on either arm, crowned with a shock of spiky black hair and blue-green eyes that could burn or freeze.

"He's the one," Recca murmered. "Nadare, Saiha, Homura, Setsuna, Madoka, Rui, Kokuu, Resshin…he's the one. That's Kouen."

* * * * *

Farther out, a young woman cautiously made her way through the collapsed buildings. Her long dark hair was piled in a great mess upon her head, baring her tanned neck and hiding the brilliance of her green eyes, now hardened in grief and anger. 

"Of all things!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot in outrage. "Tornados don't occur here!"

"Of course they don't," an woman answered her to the side. The girl spun around. She hadn't seen anyone there a moment before. The speaker was tall and shapely, with an athletic build and neatly chiseled face. Strands of lavender hair trailed over her eyes, hiding their expression. "It's of supernatural origin, of course."

"Supernatural, my foot. It's some stupid nature quirk, I swear!" The girl stamped her foot again stubbornly.

"Fine, fine. It's a quirk caused by nature. Of course, since tornados don't occur here, something unusual must be going on, shouldn't it?" The woman smiled at the girl. "What's your name, hon?" 

"I am Long Shaolin, of the Dragon clan," she declared proudly. "I'm the leader of the Three Knives gang of the harbor district."

"Is that really something to be proud of?" the woman inquired.

"I worked hard to make it to the top, if that's what you mean," Shaolin huffed out, annoyed. "I'm the best fighter in the county."

"Really. Is that so."

"Yes it is! Now get to your point, you stupid purple-haired twit!"

The woman raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I even had a point to begin with. Of course, that would be Mi-chan's department, not mine; he was the brains of our group." She smiled, confusing Shaolin. "Long Shaolin, it is good to meet you. We shall talk later." She held out her hand in a friendly way.

Shaolin stared at it, then turned away with a huff, running off and disappearing amid the ruins.

Kirisawa Fuuko gazed out after her, memories dancing in her mind. "How strong her spirit is…" she whispered into the wind. She closed her eyes and let the breeze carry her away, her form slowly disappearing and becoming one with her beloved element, until her form was no more than an outline of mist. "Fuujin, you have met your match." 

The wind answered in an affirmative whisper, curling its powers around her now nonexistant fingers like they used to when the Fuujin had rested on her right wrist. 

"She'll be every bit as difficult as I was," Fuuko said quietly. "But you know she's the one, right? Seifuu's the new mistress of the wind. She bears my namesake." 

The Fuujin appeared briefly next to her, and nodded. Both Fuujin and former Fuujin master once again gazed out, watching for the new Fuujin master.

* * * * *

A handsome young man, with light blond hair framing his face, sat near the pond with the air of one with no worries. 

"Ahhh…." Archibald Coxley sighed in contentment. Archie wasn't a person who liked to study, although he did like to learn. He preferred to spend his time outside, usually next to a lake on his family estate in the English countryside. He would sometimes bring a book, but after a library book fell into the bond, having slipped from his grasp when he fell asleep, he'd preferred to bring some food and nothing else. "Wish I could stay here forever," he murmered. 

"If you could define forever, that may be possible," a voice said from above him.

Archie opened one eye lazily, expecting to see his butler. Instead, he saw a boy, perhaps a tad younger than him-- he looked around fourteen years of age to Archie's own twenty-one-- with a mop of silvery hair hanging around his face. Archie sat up, startled. "Who are you?" he demanded in his crisp English accent.

The boy bowed. "Excuse my crude manners, my lord," he said. "I was just here to ask you some questions, that's all. I mean no harm, I assure you."

Archie lay back down and basked in the sunlight. "Go ahead," he murmered sleeply.

"Do you like water?" 

"What kind of question is that?" Archie asked, surprised.

The boy persisted. "Please, just answer it."

"Yeah, I do."

"Why's that?"

Archie groaned and rolled over. His afternoon was being disrupted, and he didn't like it. It set him in a bad mood. "If you must know why, it's because water is what makes me clean after I get sweaty from whatever stupid exercise I'm coerced into, because it is the most essential nutrient to my body, and because it is both gentle and harsh at the same time. Is that enough for you, lad?"

"Very," the boy said. "May I ask you just one more?"

Archie sighed. "Very well. Get on with it, if you please."

"How are you with swords?"

"What in bloody hell do swords and water have anything to do with each other?" Archie asked, exasperated by this seemingly pointless questioning.

The boy only gave him a sweet smile. "Please sir, I just really need to know." 

"Well, I do indeed enjoy working with swords," Archie admitted reluctantly. "Especially those of Oriental origin. Kendo is indeed a fascinating art." He closed his eyes. "Now be off with you! I have work to do!"

The boy bowed one last time. "Yes sir! And thank you, sir!" 

Archie closed his eyes and resumed his sunbathing gratefully. The oddness of the incident nagged him in the back of his mind, but he dismissed it in favor of the relaxing in the sun.

The boy ducked behind some bushes and drew from his pocket a sword handle. His form began to waver, like ripples in water, until they formed the transparent image of a young man with dark silver hair and piercing ice-blue eyes that were capable of expressing so much in so little. "Ensui," he whispered. "Are you satisfied?" 

Mikagami Tokiya felt the sword give its wordless consent. "Then it is well. You have chosen your successor." He turned his blue eyes back to the oblivious young Englishman. "You will soon realize it, Touki. You will see soon. You will see the connection, the link between swords and water."

* * * * *

A handsome young man, with dark golden blond hair and hazel eyes partially obscured by a pair of wire glasses, whooped and ran through the door, a letter clutched in his hand. "I made it! I made it!" he shrieked. "I made into to the Harvard med program!"

"Of course you made it, Mr. 5.0 GPA," his roomate, a thin, haggard-looking man in his early twenties grumbled. "You could make it into wherever you want as long as you write your name on the application."

Benjamin Lacioux was in too good a mood to get weighed down by his roommate's griping. "I can't believe it! I'm actually into Harvard!" he said again, exultantly. "And I'll be graduating next year! I can't wait!"

The cell phone rang. His roommate picked up up. "Yeah, Dave here. Yeah, that's Ben in the background. He made into Harvard. Yeah, I know, big surprise. They'd have to be idiots to turn down the valedictorian of Yale. Yeah, I know. Yeah. Ok, I'll see you later then. Lates." He turned around, only to see Ben running down the street. "Idiot! He'll get hit by a car!" he groaned, pulling himself up and running after him. 

Ben danced his way down the sidewalk, so giddy that he didn't notice the huge man towering in front of him until he actually bumped into the giant. He looked up. And up. And up.

The big man had a hand on his shoulder, steadying him. "Whoa, man, I thought you were gonna walk right into the traffic jam," the man remarked. "What's goin' through your head, man?"

Ben shook his head. "Sorry. I just got some really good news, that's all." 

The man nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean." He grinned, a grin that was as big as he was. "But it won't do you any good unless you keep alive. If you hadn't run into me, you would have been hit by someone out there, and with the way traffic is going, you wouldn't have survived, especially with your skinny little body."

Ben turned red. "S-S-Sorry," he stuttered. "I mean, thank you."

"Nah, it's no problem. Just get some exercise, pal. You're as pale as the moon, and if you don't keep in good shape then you're not going to study good. Trust me, I've been there." With a wave of his hand, the big man continued his way down the street. Ben stared after him, then shrugged and headed back to his apartment, still walking on cloud nine.

Domon shook his head and looked out after him. 'Are you sure he's the one you want?' he asked the Dosei no Wa dubiously. 'He's smart as heck, but he's also skin and bones.' 

He listened to the madougu's reply. 'Aw heck, if you put it that way, then I guess he's alright. Strength and speed? I guess so. We'd better feed him, though.' 

He turned down an abandoned alleyway. As he walked, his form disappeared, almost as if it were evaporating. 'So his name is going to be Keishou, huh? Let's see if he can live up to it.'

* * * * *

A young woman, with dark hair tinted by purplish highlights, crept her way through the forest in complete silence. Her face was streaked with dirt and blood, her hands covered with callouses, her feet ripped from too many days without shoes. 

She stopped suddenly, her dark eyes narrowing as she sensed an extra presence around her. 

'You are sharp, young one,' she heard a voice in her head. To her amazement, she saw a ghostly apparation in front of her, the figure of a man with long hair in a ninja outfit, a katana strapped to his back and laughter dancing in his eyes. He held out a friendly hand to her. 'Who are you?'

She jerked herself away from the hand. "Who are you?" she demanded.

'I asked first,' the man countered easily.

"That doesn't matter."

The man nodded. 'It doesn't. Child, what has happened to you?'

Her hands tightened into fists. "Why would I tell you?"

'You would if you knew, wouldn't you?'

Her knuckles turned white. "How do you know? How do you know that I don't know?"

'Child, I have been watching you. Watching _over_ you.' The man smiled sadly. 'I saw what happened to you, and I saw what you were forced to become.' He held out his hand again. 'What is your name, child?'

She hesitated. "I…I don't have one," she admitted softly. "I don't know what my name is."

The man gave her another sad smile. 'Then I will give you mine.' He brushed a non-physical hand through her cheek. 'I will call you Raiha.'

"Raiha…" she whispered, testing it out. After a moment, her dark gaze locked with his empathetic one, and in those few moments the first Raiha saw into the new Raiha's soul; the churning confusion, the frustration, the hopelessness. But she turned away soon after, looking to the side, feeling something that he couldn't understand.

He reached out for the third time. 'Child, trust me…please, trust me.' Once again he locked gazes with her. Once again, he saw into her soul. But this time, he saw something burning in the very back, just a glimmer, but enough to fill his heart with hope for her.

* * * * *

The Phoenix stood over the horizon, watching the scenes with an impassive face. Next to her, Kurei stood, also watching.

"The madougu are awakening again," Kurei said quietly. "The war begins again, as well."

The Phoenix nodded. "I will remain neutral this time, Kurei. Nobody will possess me in this war. I will not interfere on your behalf, whether the spell is used or not."

Kurei nodded. "I understand." He shaded his eyes and looked out at the burning village where the Hachiryu had awakened. "But may I take part in this at all?"

"I have no hold over you," the Phoenix replied. "You were a flamemaster, along with your brother. Because you are linked by blood, you may help Recca with the successor of the Hachiryu, Kouen. But you cannot call upon me as your flame in this war. To do so would upset the balance."

Kurei nodded. "What will happen, now?" he asked quietly. "Why are the Fuujin and the Raijin on the same side?"

"That remains to be seen if they will stay on the same side." The Phoenix crossed her arms, her face hidden under her cloaked hood. "Everything will balance out, Kurei. It always balances out in the end." She paused, then added in a hard voice, "It all depends on which end is chosen."

* * * * *

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Author's Notes: I could definetely use some ideas on what to do with this story, so any input or feedback is even more appreciated. I'm not sure what to do with this story as of yet; I have some idea, but not a lot. What do you think so far? Let me know!

Here's the breakdown of names.

Eimin: eternal sleep   
Keishou: strong and nimble   
Kouen: flame   
Seifuu: west wind   
Raiha: thunder champion   
Touki: wintertime 

Well, that's it for now. Later! ~katanashi   
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	2. Flame

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Disclaimer: Recca no Honou belongs to its respective owner(s). 

The Future  
Chapter Two: Flame   
by katanashi 

Author's Notes: I'll try and explain this fic a little more, since most people were confused by it. This story is in the future, where the Hokage are now deceased (having lived out their lives), and come back now to help the new elemental masters. I cast the madougu as almost having wills of their own, and an internal tendency to fight one another. Each Hokage member acts as a sort of advisor to their respective madougu's new user. As for Yanagi's successor, she's coming-- eventually. You can't have a Recca future fic w/o a sort of Recca/Yanagi romance, right? But you might be surprised exactly who she is.   
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* * * * *

Hiroshi cursed and sat down with a thud. "Shimatta!" he growled. The village had been saved from the fire the night before, but the beautiful forest around them had been utterly destroyed. He had loved that forest; it had been his hideout and a wonderful place for him to 

He heard footsteps to the right of him. "What lovely language," someone commented.

Hiroshi turned and saw the same old man, the one who had told him about the flames of Eimin, again. "What is it now?" he asked. Normally, he'd be more polite, but considering he'd spent the whole night battling the fire, trying to direct people and throw water at the same time, he was rightfully exhausted and short-tempered. 

The man sat down easily. "I need to talk to you, Kouen."

Hiroshi blinked. "Ano…my name's Hiroshi, sir. Not Kouen."

The man shook his head. "No, your name isn't Hiroshi anymore. It's Kouen."

Hiroshi wondered if the old guy was senile, crazy, or both. "Look, sir, I'm sorry to be rude, but my name is Hiroshi, and--"

The man cut him off. "How many times must I tell you? Didn't you listen to me before? Those that enter the war of the madougu will never emerge the same."

"What?" 

The man stood abruptly. "Come." 

Hiroshi opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out. He felt his legs start forward mechanically, as if they weren't of his own will. It was as if he were a marionette, and the strings of destiny controlled his every move.

* * * * * 

The man led him to a clearing. Hiroshi recognized it instantly. He had been standing near there last night. It was here that the flames of Eimin had exploded and set fire to everything nearby.

The man stopped and raised his arms. "Come forth, Hachiryu!"

To Hiroshi, it was the previous night all over again, as the tremendous onslaught of flame burst from seemingly nowhere, eerie screams echoing from every direction. But this time, he could sense a higher degree of control, an eager expectancy instead of fierce revelations of freedom. He could make out eight of them, all different shapes and with different expressions on their faces. 

"Hachiryu? The Eight Flame Dragons?" Hiroshi whispered. His back was pressed against a tree trunk tightly, as he witnessed what seemed to be the impossible. Who was this old man, and how could he call upon the Karyu? "Who are you?"

The man turned to him. Hiroshi gasped as the man's form changed into the appearance of a young man his own age, in a ninja outfit with sneakers and an orange sash.

The now-young man nodded. "I am Hanabishi Recca. I was the leader of the seventh generation of the Hokage ninja clan, re-established in the late twentieth century, and a flamemaster. I controlled the most powerful of the flames-- the Hachiryu."

"The Hokage?" Hiroshi repeated. He had no idea what was going on. "The Hachiryu? What?"

Recca sighed and rubbed his neck. "One of you guys want to take over for me?" he asked of the dragons.

The dragons looked at each other, sneering, before one of them finally laughed and took pity on Recca. "I'll try my best," a deep, but still feminine voice said. "But I have never been good at explanations."

Recca smiled in relief. "Thanks, Nadare. I always knew I could count on you."

"That's because she's a softy," the dragon to the left of Nadare said. 

"Oh, shut up, Saiha. At least I'm not a tempermental sulker." The dragon's flame form coalesced into a beautiful woman, with a comforting smile and a kindly look in her eye. "Fukuto Hiroshi, son of Fukuto Shira, leader of the Karusei village and considered to be the most talented youth of his village, who excels at ninjutsu, self-defense and offensive martial arts, with a high intelligence level as well. Do I have your life correct so far?"

Despite his shock, Hiroshi found Nadare's straightforward attitude reassuring. "Yes, although there's a lot more to my life than just a sentence."

"A run on sentence," the one-eyed dragon commented snidely. "Nadare, you were never good at school, were you?"

A dragon with whiskers seemed to sigh. "Kokuu, shut up. Nadare, just ignore the old geezer."

"Thank you, Madoka." Nadare nodded. "Anyway, what was I saying? Ah, yes. I had to explain this all to Recca once, too."

"You did not," Recca said with a childish pout. "I was smart."

"About as smart as a beetle," Saiha muttered. 

"If you two don't be quiet, you know I will make you be quiet, and I'm sure you don't want that." Nadare smiled sweetly as the two arguers readily shut up. "Well, the Hachiryu, Kouen--"

"Hiroshi," he interrupted her again. 

"Alright, alright. The Hachiryu, Hiroshi, are actually the reincarnated spirits of the eight greatest flame dragons. Each of us has a special power, in addition to the general ability to use flame, and we lend that power to our masters. We can also be released from our master and attack as dragons. We cannot appear in human form, however, to anyone but our master, and that is only within a special realm. Although we do act as advisors and teachers to our masters, our masters must also win our respect. Only then can they call upon our powers from will."

"Huh?" Hiroshi pointed to Recca. "Isn't he your master?"

"I was," Recca said.

"Umm…okay, so what happened?"

"I died."

"Oh." Hiroshi was taken aback from a moment, then realized in annoyance that Recca had to be a ghost-- no human would be translucent. "From what?"

"Old age. And stress." Recca grinned. "My kids annoyed me to no end, and after that, their grandkids. And now I have to work after death. Man, I get no peace."

"You chose to help out, Recca," Nadare reprimended him lightly. "It was either you or Kurei, and you offered."

"That's because Onnisan would scare him to death," Recca countered.

"You have a brother?" Hiroshi butted in. He was starting to like these people.

"Yeah. Kurei. He's actually my half-brother, but over the years the half has practically disappeared."

"Neat. I wish I had siblings."

"Trust me, you better take that wish back. Kurei stole my clothes a lot."

Nadare broke in a bit impatiently. "Now, we are on a tangent. Recca, do keep your mind on the subject," she told him severely. Recca only shrugged. "Anyhow, Hiroshi, what else was there?"

"The Hokage," Hiroshi reminded her. Despite Recca's bantering, he had managed to keep track of questions to ask Nadare.

"Ah, yes. The Hokage were a group of ancient ninja. Where other ninja groups tried to find physical means of becoming the strongest, the Hokage used their minds. They found ways to harness the power of the elements, both the tangible and the non-tangible, within contraptions known as madougu-- elemental weapons. Do you follow?" Hiroshi nodded. "Good. The Hokage found ways to capture wind, water, thunder, strength, speed, and others. But it wasn't until later that they finally managed to capture the use of the flame. It had to be passed down through the generations, through a mysterious linkage of blood. But with the Time Manipulation Spell disrupting the timestreams and the many intermarriages of the later Hokage, the flame link is as good as gone."

Hiroshi frowned. "So what does this all have to do with me?"

"You have been chosen to be the new flamemaster," Nadare explained patiently. "The blood of the Hokage has been thinned out and almost completely eliminated over the generations. The power of the flame can no longer be passed down by blood; it must be instilled within a chosen successor."

"Then why me?" Hiroshi asked. His head was spinning. "I'm just an ordinary guy. Why do I get to be the flamemaster? Can't you pick anyone else?"

Recca shook his head. "It is Fate. There is no one else but you that can take up the power of fire and use it against the evil. If you don't accept this power, it will not be used in this war, and the other side will almost certainly win. The flame is the most powerful of the so-called madougu."

"What war?"

Nadare shot Recca a look. He gave her a guilty face, but shrugged helplessly. The damage had already been done. 

Nadare sighed. "The madougu war," she said, sounding weary, "Is the curse of the Hokage and the madougu itself. For as long as the madougu exist, they will want to fight each other to see who is stronger, who trained their master better. Their masters too will feel conflicts, not only from the influence of their madougu, but because their personalities clash."

"That doesn't make sense," Hiroshi objected. "How can you predict if they have different personalities? Each person is different, and I bet even the madougu doesn't know everything about that person."

Madoka leaned towards Homura. "He's a sharp one."

Homura nodded serenely. "Aa. He has the ability to become as good a ninja as Recca."

"Without the stupidity?"

"We'll see about that." Homura looked faintly amused for some reason.

"Fair enough," Nadare conceded. "It is because each madougu has certain criteria for their masters, and the criteria will often overlap or clash with another madougu's criteria. If one madougu prefers masters who have complete control, and another likes masters with free spirits, then they are naturally in conflict."

"Alright. But why would I fight them as the flamemaster? I have nothing against these people, and I don't even know who they are. It's kind of pointless-- aw, heck, it _is_ pointless-- to fight people that you don't have a grudge against."

Nadare and Recca looked at each other, then back at the other dragons. The one farthest left-- Resshin, Hiroshi remembered-- shook his head.

Nadare turned back with a sigh. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that, Hiroshi. It's not allowed."

"But I'll tell you this." Recca's eyes were deadly serious. "The flame, through your decision or not, will be a part of this war. If you accept it, you can control it at will. But if you don't, it will be uncontrollable."

"Can't you control it?"

"I'm long-gone dead and a spirit," Recca said quietly. "A spirit can't control something of the mortal world. It's just wrong."

Hiroshi nodded. "I understand. But one more thing. My mother-- is she going to be affected by this war?"

"Everyone will be affected by it," Recca said with certainty. "This isn't a discreet war, like the one I fought when I was a flamemaster. This will be a full-scale war, a direct conflict between all the madougu that were ever made and still exist."

Hiroshi looked him dead in the eye. "Then who will protect my mother, if I'm away at war?"

"Who said you have to go away for war? The war will come to you." 

"I don't want that," Hiroshi said flatly. "It will destroy our village."

"There will be a lot of villages destroyed in this war," Recca said quietly. "Hiroshi, you will have to leave your mother behind if you go somewhere else for war."

"No. I won't. My mother is all the family I have left." Hiroshi's jaw muscles tightened stubbornly. "I won't just abandon her and leave her to die."

Recca looked at Nadare and sighed. Recca loved his own mother, Kagero, dearly and didn't have the heart to tell Hiroshi about the sacrifices that the war would demand. "We'll figure something out. In the meantime, do you accept the flame?"

"Not if it means leaving Kaachan behind."

Recca's voice rose slightly. "If you want to protect your mother against this war, then you will accept the power of the flame. Because in doing so, you are accepting the help of the most powerful allies you could ask for, and they understand your love for your mother. Therefore, they will do everythign they can to help you win and at the same time give you the ability to keep your mother safe. What do you really want, Hiroshi?"

Hiroshi sighed and extended his arm. "Then I guess there's no choice, is there?"

"Hiroshi." If possible, Recca grew even more serious. "If you accept the power of the flame, you will never be the same, physically or mentally. Even after the war ends-- if it does end-- you won't change back. You will forever be linked to the flame."

Hiroshi nodded. "Wakata. But I have to do this, for Kaachan." He held up his arm. "I accept your power, Hachiryu! Give me the power of the flame!"

The eight dragons molded together into a ball of fire and descended upon him. Hiroshi felt the flame surrounding him, crackling and hissing as it engulfed the already charred vegetation around him.

Suddenly, the flame disappeared. And Hiroshi was left standing in the middle of the field, without a scratch on him. On his right arm was a forearm guard, white with a black flame etched on it. 

He fingered it gently, running his fingers over the slight upraisal of the flame pattern. "What is this?" he asked, wonderingly.

"It's a wrist guard, so that you can control your flame." Recca looked wistfully at the wrist guard. "The Hachiryu cannot do everything for you; you won't earn their respect until you learn how to use your new power. I wore this almost the whole time I was a flamemaster; it was my father's before mine. He only took it off when he had to call upon the full power of his flame." He motioned with his hand. "Go on. Try it."

Hiroshi hesitated. Instinctively, he sank into a fighting stance and brought the wrist-guard hand back, with his other arm folded protectively in front of him. Several moments passed by. 

Recca frowned. "What's wrong?" 

Hiroshi straightened and looked dubiously at his hands. "It doesn't feel right." At Recca's questioning look, he elaborated. "Well, ok, it's not that I can't call on the flame-- I can feel it in me, waiting-- but something just doesn't feel right." He paused. "_I_ don't feel right."

Recca nodded. "Remember what I said, Kouen?"

"My name's not--" He stopped. "Oh. I see."

"Your identity will be completely changed," Recca said quietly. "Even your name cannot be the same. Those that become directly involved in the war of the madougu are reborn of their elements. You will be reborn of the flame. When you accepted the Hachiryu, couldn't you feel yourself become different?" The other young man nodded mutely. "That's when you became Kouen instead of Hiroshi."

"Kouen." He whispered the new name. "Kouen. The flame." 

"Do you still accept the power of the flame…Kouen?"

Slowly, deliberately, Kouen nodded. "I must, for the sake of this world. I must become Kouen."

"Then call on the flame, and seal the bond between human and element."

Kouen raised his arm to the sky, closed his eyes, and concentrated. "Come forth, flame!" he cried out. He felt a tingling running up and down his whole body, almost like a shiver, but one of intense power. Those tingles concentrated themselves in his hand and wrist, and suddenly, he felt that power explode. He opened his eyes, and saw to his awe a golden flame enveloping his hand, burning with a steady light.

"It will grow stronger as you use it more and more," Recca said. "One thing I must caution you on; the flame is not an element that is removeable. It is bound to your soul for as long as you live, not your physical body."

Kouen nodded. "I know." He looked again at his arm again, still glowing with flame. 

* * * * * 

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Author's Notes: I think that was incredibly convoluted, and messy...oh well. I'll probably edit it later on. Oh yeah...one thing I was gonna ask you guys...you know how Domon and Recca are sort of perverts in the anime? Who should be the perverts here? 

Comments and feedback always (greatly) appreciated. Ja ne! ~katanashi   
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